Script for Dan Paulos' Video Entitled Bernadette

In scripture John writes: Whoever drinks the water I give - will never be thirsty. The theology of Lourdes is, then, completely authentic and perfectly in-line with the Word of God. And the waters which Our Lady invited the young Bernadette to excavate have, to millions of people of numerous faiths, quenched the burning thirst for trust in God's mercy and love.

Bernadette Soubirous was born at the Boly Mill in the small village of Lourdes, France, at 2:00 in the afternoon, on Sunday, January 7th, 1844. She was the first child of Francois and Louise Soubirous. Two days later she was baptized and given the formal name, Bernarde-Marie.

Misfortune visited the Soubirous Family in November, 1844, when Louise's bodice caught fire, causing severe burns. Since she could no longer nurse her ten-month-old child, Bernadette was sent to a wet nurse in Bartres, a village three miles from Lourdes. Francois and Louise agreed to pay Marie Lagus five francs a month for nursing their child. Surely this separation was the cause of great sorrow to the young couple, and, after being apart for eleven months, Bernadette was finally re-united with her parents in Lourdes.

Faith was always strong in the lives of this devout, Catholic family, which, over the years would have grown to nine children. However, Francois and Louise buried five of the children before they reached age ten. Again, in 1848 the family, Soubirous, came upon misfortune. By May of 1856, the weary parents and their four children were forced to move into one room, a former prison cell, which they would inhabit for more than two years. The entire family was mocked and ridiculed, and bore upon their shoulders the heaviness of dire poverty, total destitution, the coldness of the mountain winters, and far too many illnesses.

It was during this period that Bernadette began to show extraordinary signs of sanctity. She was a blessing to her parents, taking charge of her younger brothers and sister, while her parents performed odd jobs in order to put meager meals on the table.

To assist her parents financially, the eldest child also worked, from time-to-time, at her aunt's pub where she waited tables. But Bernadette was never a strong child. And at the age of 11+, she contracted Cholera. Though she recovered, her health plagued Francois and Louise, and so, when an invitation was given to the Soubirous's to send Bernadette to the high mountain village of Bartres, they decided it would be good for their eldest daughter's health. There would also be one fewer mouth to feed, which would somewhat ease the struggles of Francois and Louise.

At Bartres, Bernadette was sent out to tend sheep in the fields. This was not a happy time. The family to which she had been entrusted became cold and perhaps even brutal to the weakened, thirteen year old. The master of the house had, upon occasion, even struck Bernadette, which was totally unjustified - for truly, Bernadette was an exceptional young girl, who showed only respect toward her elders.

Francois would walk the journey from Lourdes to Bartres to surprise his daughter. Oh, you can imagine the joy this brought her! Bernadette never complained of her unhappiness. She did, however, constantly ask her father to allow her to return to Lourdes so that she could go to school to prepare for her First Holy Communion.

On one particular visit, Francois heard his Bernadette weeping. He quickened his pace and ran to see what could have happened. Bernadette, who had become very fond of her sheep, giving many of them their own names, was sickened at the sight of their wool. She settled down long enough to point out that many of her sheep had turned green. Oh, Bernadette, her father sympathetically chided, what have you done, my child? You must have let them eat too much grass! Bernadette, again, broke into tears. Finally, the grinning parent stroked her head - and explained that the green sheep had been marked by the master to be sold. After tending sheep for six months, Bernadette, who had not yet learned to read and write, was finally allowed to return to her family in Lourdes, and begin her education and preparations to receive her First Holy Communion.

Several weeks after her return to Lourdes, Bernadette, her sister, and a childhood friend went outdoors in the bitter cold to fetch sticks for cooking and heating their prison cell. Her asthma surely affected her in the coldness of the winter, and when the trio came to the river crossing, her companions bid Bernadette to stay behind, pointing out that wading through the water would cause her bitter discomfort.

As the two younger girls crossed the waters, Bernadette felt a strange wind blow. She turned around to see a bright light in a rocky grotto. Unafraid, she hastened to see what caused the brightness. As she approached, she saw a beautiful lady dressed in white with a blue sash, and on each foot there was a single, golden rose, the exact color of the lady's rosary.

Bernadette's first reaction to the woman wasn't to question who she might be - but rather, how did she get up into that niche! So humble was this child! And it never entered her mind that it could possibly be a visitor from heaven. She pulled her rosary from her pocket and began to pray. It was this precious rosary, which her parents had taught her to recite, that always made her feel at peace. Though there were no words exchanged during the first apparition, Bernadette knew that this first visit of February 11, 1858, would not be the last. SHE MOTIONED ME TO COME MUCH CLOSER! SHE LOOKED AT ME AS ONE PERSON LOOKS AT ANOTHER!

Three days later, the young child felt a calling within, an irresitible force, inviting her to the cave. She answered the call, but on the way to the grotto, she stopped at the Church where she filled a bottle with holy water. If the beautiful lady appeared again, she was prepared to sprinkle the vision, saying, If you are of God, stay. If not, leave! THE MORE I SPRINKLED HOLY WATER, THE MORE SHE SMILED!

Reputable villagers began accompanying the seeress to the grotto. On one occasion, they implored her to take along paper and pen so that the lady could write down her name, and explain exactly what she expected. Bernadette obeyed. But when she asked the lady to write down her name, the vision smiled again. Warmly. And replied, WHAT I HAVE TO SAY TO YOU DOES NOT NEED TO BE WRITTEN. HOWEVER, MAY I ASK YOU TO DO ME THE FAVOR OF COMING HERE FOR 15 DAYS? I CANNOT PROMISE YOU HAPPINESS IN THIS LIFE, ONLY IN THE OTHER! Bernadette reported, faithfully, without flowery exaggerations, every word her visitor spoke. No one knew quite what to think.

For the fourth apparition, Bernadette began to bring along with her a blessed candle, which later would become an important factor in the conversion of the faithful.

Upon the completion of the sixth apparition, Bernadette went to visit the priest of the parish. The Commissioner of Police also interrogated her, roughly, trying to force her to admit that someone had put her up to these imaginary visions. The young girl remained firm in her beliefs.

The seventh vision brought three personal secrets which Bernadette never shared with anyone. It was at this gathering that a doctor, lawyer, a member of the town council, and the future mayor of Lourdes attended. All wished to witness the behavior of the visionary.

By the eighth visit, more than 300 curious people assembled. The lady repeated three times: PENANCE, PENANCE, PENANCE. She also requested that Bernadette crawl on her knees into the grotto and kiss the ground - as a sign of repentance. Before the lady vanished, she said, PRAY TO GOD FOR SINNERS!

The beautiful lady, at the ninth visit, asked her guest to drink from the spring, to wash her face, and to eat of the grasses --- extended signs of repentance. Since Bernadette saw no spring, she assumed that the lady meant the nearby river. However, the visitor pointed her to the ground under the grotto rock, and there Bernadette dug with her fingers. A small amount of water appeared, and, after four attempts to sift the mud from the water, Bernadette drank and cleansed herself. Soon after, the spring flowed freely for all to see. After this event, the Imperial Prosecutor of Lourdes ordered Bernadette to his office. His interrogation was harsh and threatening to the child of 14. He threatened to put her in prison if she did not promise to halt her visits to the grotto. Bernadette responded, BUT SIR, I PROMISED THE LADY I WOULD COME FOR 15 DAYS. WOULD YOU WANT ME TO BREAK MY PROMISE? The Imperial Prosecutor, stunned by the simplicity of the child, backed off.

1,100 people attended the eleventh apparition. As the crowds became larger, the civil authorities became more nervous. Again Bernadette was hastened to the Magistrate's office. And again, her firm, sincere responses left the authorities baffled.

During the twelfth vision, 1,300 people attended, including both of Bernadette s parents. The next day, 1,600 people were present. The lady said, GO TO YOUR PRIEST AND ASK HIM TO BUILD A CHAPEL HERE, AND INVITE THE PEOPLE TO COME IN PROCESSION.

The following day, after word reached the people that the priest had been asked to build a chapel, 4,000 pilgrims came. But the lady did not appear. Later that afternoon, Bernadette, accompanied by an uncle and a cousin, went to the grotto and received her fourteenth visit.

At the fifteenth apparition, 8,000 were present. The lady repeated the request for a chapel - and for processions. After the request was delivered to the parish priest, the irresitible force which Bernadette had experienced each time she had a vision, ceased for twenty days. During this period of silence, Bernadette threw herself into the preparations for receiving her First Holy Communion.

On March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, again the young girl felt the invitation to Come to the Waters . During this apparition, Bernadette asked the lady, WOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO TELL ME YOUR NAME? Three times she asked the question. Upon the fourth attempt, the lady raised her eyes toward heaven, crossed her arms, covering her breasts with her hands, and replied, I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION! These words were not understood by the uneducated visionary, so she repeated them to herself many times so she would not forget the important words. Yet they were most probably the last words spoken by her beautiful visitor - or - at least they were the last words Bernadette repeated to the interrogators.

The miracle of the candle occurred during the seventeenth apparition. For fifteen minutes during Bernadette's ecstasy, she cupped her hand over the burning candle, while feeling no discomfort. Upon the completion of the vision, Bernadette immediately felt the flame of the candle, and dropped it onto the ground. An attending doctor, witnessing the entire event, examined Bernadette's hands. The fact that they were unharmed was the cause of his conversion.

Again, there was an interval of three months where Bernadette did not receive any calling to come to the grotto. It was during this period that the young girl received her First Communion. And, the grotto, to the sadness of many, was ordered closed by the civil authorities. Since it was blocked-off, how could Bernadette answer the irresistible force calling her on July 15, 1858? Was she to disobey the law? Her aunt directed her to the property across from the River Gave, and there Bernadette saw her Visitor for the final time. Few eye-witnesses were present. Obviously Bernadette felt that this vision was so private, so sacred, that she never mentioned it to anyone. The grotto was reopened on November 5, 1858, by order of the Emperor.

For those who have not had the privilege of traveling to Lourdes and Nevers, France, the following photographs will, perhaps, allow you to visit these holy places in spirit.

As stated earlier, Bernadette was born at the Boly Mill on January 7, 1844. Her father ran this mill quite successfully for ten years, but with the many other mills springing up, and an accident in which he lost his left eye, the family was reduced to poverty.

Bernadette's likeness as a child graces the cornerstone of the new parish church of St. Peter. The original church burned down in 1896. However, the baptismal registry where Bernadette's baptism was recorded, though lightly damaged, was saved, as was the baptismal font.

The waters which poured over Bernadette's forehead on her baptism day fell into this primitive font. She was christened two days after her birth.

Inside the rebuilt parochial church, to the left, is a side altar dedicated to Bernadette. This stone statue of the saint stands high above the altar.

The family, Soubirous, was allowed to live in the abandoned village prison, a one- room cell, for the more than two year period of destitution.

Upon approaching the jail's entrance door, visitors often become emotional, able to witness for themselves, the distressing poverty the Soubirous's endured.

It was in this small room that the six family members were forced to exist.

Our Lady always played an important role in the lives of each member of the Soubirous family. Francois and Louise prayed the rosary daily, teaching their children its theology while passing on the tradition. This gilded statue of Our Lady was originally housed in the old St. Peter Church in Lourdes, and was often visited by Bernadette. She loved this ancient image of Mary. Today it is enshrined at the inside entrance of the prison.

So many statues of Bernadette have been sculpted over the years, but this meditative pose of the 14 year old child's watching the flock of sheep entrusted to her is by far the most popular amongst the pilgrims.

Midst the roaming hills of Bartres is this path where Bernadette led her sheep to pasture.

This humble barn was used to shelter the sheep from the cold. Some of the natives of Bartres tell the story that Bernadette often slept in this barn with her charges.

This wooden fence kept the sheep from straying. Pilgrims from all over the world have scratched and carved their names - and names of loved ones - on the simple branches which make up the partitions.

Here pose descendants of Bernadette's flock! This is the open window of the room where Bernadette slept for the six months she stayed in Bartres. Preserved inside the room is the bed in which she slept.

Lourdes has an enormous wax museum which presents the entire history of the apparitions, as well as Bernadette's departure from Lourdes and her life in the convent at Nevers. It also includes many scenes from the life of Christ. In this scene, the visionary beholds her beautiful lady.

In this scenario Bernadette and her Aunt Casterot visit the pastor of the parish church, telling him that the lady wants a chapel built - and processions to form. The priest, agitated by the commotion of the visions, asked Bernadette if the lady had any money.

NO, MONSIGNOR, she humbly replied. The priest harshly responded that he, too, had no money, and hastened them out of the rectory.

This statue of Mary was housed in the chapel at the hospice of the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction in Lourdes, the place where Bernadette received her First Holy Communion.

Bernadette knelt on this kneeler as she received her First Communion. It became her personal prayer bench while she lived with the Sisters at the hospice.

Small relics, including a lock of her hair, are displayed at the hospice representing the life of the saint during the years she lived there.

The Lourdes' Bernadette Museum has several important objects from the saint's life. This photograph highlights the fragile remains of her scapular.

These are the shoes worn by Bernadette after she joined the Sisters at the hospice. Before this time, she wore traditional wooden clogs.

This white carrara marble statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, as the Immaculate Conception, was carved by Fabisch from Lyon, and installed in the niche of the grotto on March 4th, 1864.

When Bernadette was asked if she liked the statue, she hesitated, so as not to insult the artist. But later, she did not hold back her feelings: the statue was not, at all, to her liking.

This is the actual spring which the tender fingers of the young visionary dug from the moist earth. Once Bernadette freed the waters, miracles were immediately reported. Today, five million pilgrims flock to Lourdes each year, hoping, praying to experience the healing of mind, heart and body.

In 7 languages, electric, digital signs read, Come to the Waters. Drink, and wash your face as Bernadette was told to do! It is here that millions of pilgrims each year fill containers of every shape and size with the holy, healing waters of Lourdes. Come to the Waters - which Mary pointed out, Bernadette dug, and which God promised.

GO AND TELL THE PRIEST TO BUILD A CHAPEL HERE, AND TO HAVE PEOPLE COME IN PROCESSION.

Three-in-one basilicas were erected on the sight of the 18 apparitions of Our Lady. The first chapel to be built was the Crypt. Until recently, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed in this chapel daily. It was completed before Bernadette left Lourdes in 1866. She had the privilege of praying in the Crypt, rejoicing that Our Lady's wishes had come true. Today, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, daily, from early morning to late evening in the Eucharistic Chapel in the new Church of St. Bernadette, across the River Gave. The original crypt is now utilized for daily Mass and silent prayer.

In 1876 the upper basilica was built on top of the Crypt. Scenes of the apparitions are portrayed in the stained glass windows. This chapel is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.

The church of the Holy Rosary was added in 1889. This majestic chapel is best known for its crown-like dome. The Mysteries of the Rosary are rendered in exquisite mosaic tiles in the 15 small chapels within this large basilica.

Our Lady of Lourdes hovers high above the pilgrims who come to ask her blessings and prayerful assistance. The statue was carved by the sculptor Raffl, and was installed at the center of the esplanade in 1877. Pilgrims leave all sorts of gifts, letters, prayers, and flowers here, and treasure this shrine second only to the grotto.

Holy Mass is celebrated throughout the day in many languages. Prayer, in all forms, is the core of the spirituality of Lourdes.

This modern sculpture of the Pieta represents the sufferers who journey to Lourdes with the hope of touching the holiness Our Lady and Bernadette brought to this quaint village. The statue stands outside the front entrance of the hospitals.

COME TO THE WATERS echoes over and over and over again - while millions of people flock to the spring for spiritual purification. Their visits to the fonts renew their baptism promises, and implore them to reconcile themselves to the Almighty.

AND LET THE PEOPLE COME IN PROCESSION! From all parts of the earth, pilgrims march to the beat of their own drum. Many carry patriotic flags - while others raise, high, spiritual symbols of their faith. Here, an enormous portrait of Bernadette was painted on wood, and carried, proudly, in the candlelight procession.

Each afternoon at 4:30, the Blessed Sacrament Procession is held, and continues to be the most important procession at Lourdes. The blessing of the sick is given during benediction. This procession invites the ill of heart, mind, body, and soul, to walk with Christ through the difficult and winding roads of life.

The triple basilica proved inadequate to seat the many visitors for Mass, so in 1958, the basilica of St. Pius X was built underground to hold 27,000 pilgrims. The contemporary design allows the free movement of wheel chairs and beds, making this place of worship fully inviting to all believers.

The chapel of reconciliation is open all day long, beckoning pilgrims to answer the call of Our Lady's message and request, PENANCE, PENANCE, PENANCE! The statue of the Cure of Ars welcomes people to confess their sins. It was this priest of Ars who often heard confessions 20 hours a day.

The candlelight processions are the most moving ceremonies imaginable. They occur each evening at 8:45 with tens of thousands of pilgrims participating. They each carry candles aflame, and during the choruses of the hymns, Immaculate Mary and Laudate Mariam, they raise their candles heavenward to the rhythm of the music. The flames literally dance! Can you imagine the powerful, emotional electricity this spectacle causes? It is so rare, so sacred, that mortal words could never describe the beauty. Pilgrims surely wonder how happy Our Lady must be to see these flickering candles raised high in her honor.

The Way of the Cross is one of the most somber, humbling religious exercises that can be experienced in Lourdes. The 15 stations wind 2 miles up hill, and it is nearly impossible to walk this road of Calvary if not blessed with good health. More moving than even the larger-than-life cast iron figures are the special, selfless people who agree to push wheel chairs up the rocky, rough mountain. So steep is the climb that it takes several strong men to push each malade. Tears flow freely and frequently on this path of sorrows, but at the end of the long trail, one feels rejuvenated at the empty tomb of the Savior where the Resurrection is sensitively portrayed by a single, round, stone - which has been rolled away from the sepulchre.

Bernadette's farewell to her parents was an experience from which she never quite recovered. She perhaps foresaw that she would never return to Lourdes, nor see her parents again. And too, she had to separate herself from the grotto which she so loved! It was all heart-wrenching. She and her travelling companions left Lourdes by train on the 4th of July, 1866. Visiting Sisters of their Order en route, the travelers finally arrived at the Motherhouse in Nevers at 11:00 in the evening of the 7th of July. Because of the late hour, only a few nuns remained awake to welcome the visionary whose eyes had exchanged gazes with the Mother of God.

The next day Bernadette was ordered to describe her visions to the assembled community, and once finished, never to discuss them again. This would not have been a sacrifice for the 22 year old postulant. But throughout her life she was plagued with having to tell and re-tell her story to affluent visitors from across the world. This sense of being a celebrity was Bernadette's darkest trial. When indecisive prelates would question her, sometimes quite disrespectfully, she'd meekly respond, MONSIGNOR, I HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH TELLING THE STORY, NOT WITH MAKING YOU BELIEVE. First Letter to the Corinthians 1:25: How true and wonderful that God chooses the weak and lowly to shame the wise.

On the grounds of the Motherhouse, detached from the living quarters, is a small chapel dedicated to St. Joseph. It was here that Bernadette so often spent hours at private prayer, praying before the simple, but striking image of St. Joseph. It was also here, after her death, that she was buried underground for 46 years.

As far as one can stroll onto the Motherhouse garden, stands the statue of Our Lady of the Waters. Bernadette loved this image, and used to run to this secret hiding place to retreat from the other nuns. This is where she allowed herself to cry when homesick, when her mother passed away, and during times of convental abuse.

The infirmary became Bernadette's home for the better part of her last years on earth. She died on April 16, 1879, at the age of 35. Today this room is used as a private chapel of the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction. The statue of Our Lady is the same image which Bernadette prayed before while she prepared herself for death.

The crucifix which now hangs in the infirmary chapel was not part of the original hangings in the sick room. It was added after the renovations were made.

The tabernacle in the infirmary chapel has a white canopy hanging over it, representing the canopy which hung over the sick-bed of Bernadette. She often called the drapings her little white chapel.

The Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction feel that this marble statue of their saint is the most important image ever carved of the child of Lourdes. It was sculpted by a trappist monk, Brother Marie Bernard, and erected in 1931, in anticipation of her canonization. The archivist of the congregation of sisters writes: In my opinion, it is the most beautiful statue of St. Bernadette, who became Sr. Marie-Bernard, and one can even say that, in the expression of her face, Brother was able to reproduce that of the ecstasy at the grotto.

Candles in Nevers, just as in Lourdes, play an important role in the prayer life and spirituality of the pilgrims. This candelabra rests in the Sanctuary where Bernadette's incorrupt body is enshrined. Pilgrims purchase the candles and ask God to hear their prayers for the duration of the brilliant flickering.

This statue of Our Lady and Child stands on the back wall of the Bernadette shrine in the Motherhouse chapel.

After being buried in the ground for 30 years, the body of Bernadette was exhumed in preparation for the Ecclesiastical Inquiry into her life and miracles. She was found perfectly incorrupt. The Sisters cleansed her body, changed her habit, and returned her to the earth. Ten years later, 1919, a second exhumation was ordered. Again, the saint's body was found to be incorrupt. She was returned to her grave. Six years later, in 1925, she was exhumed for the third and last time. It was then decided to enshrine her incorrupt body in the Motherhouse chapel for public veneration.

Photographs Copyright (c) by Dan Paulos - All rights reserved

When one walks into the chapel and witnesses the power of God demonstrated through the incorrupt body of the beautiful Bernadette, something happens! Perhaps the words of John's gospel best describes the feeling: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. What happens is that one's breath and heartbeat is literally altered. In this chapel serene, Bernadette's entire history can be felt, for it is here that, after more than 130 years, Lourdes and Bernadette are truly reunited. And how peculiar that her body is trapped in a gilded shrine! She had been stalked for so many years of her life, that when she finally entered the convent, she thought she'd be free of such intrusions. She loathed being singled out. But now, in death, she singularly attends to the needs of those who come to venerate her. In heavenly peace she rests before us, echoing the words of John 17:4: I have glorified You on earth and finished the work You gave me to do!

It seems that not all people share in the privilege of being invited into Bernadette's friendship. You may ask, then, how might one go about contacting the simple saint - it's quite easy: just pull out your rosary!

Photographs Copyright (c) by Dan Paulos - All rights reserved

St. Bernadette! Humble child of Lourdes, you were misunderstood and abused throughout your short life, even in religion; but through your suffering - physical, mental, spiritual - you learned to deal with the wickedness of sinners, meekly accepting your crosses and carrying them with such articulate grace. Look down upon us who continue to struggle with this mortal life, and pray that through your example we might find inner peace, hope, and faith. We ask this favor through Our Lady and Lord, with the hope of one day sharing eternity with you. Amen!